May 2013: the DSM-V, the new Diagnostic Manual for Psychiatric disorders is a fact. This new manual has been highly controversial as its scientific basis is quite problematic and as the APA has refused to an independent review of this new manual. The field testing step that was needed for quality control was skipped. This is not an acceptable approach to prepare and approve a diagnostic system.  Allen Frances, MD, chairman of the DSM-IV task force and professor emeritus at Duke states: 

'Psychiatric diagnosis has become too important in selecting treatments, determining eligibility for benefits and services, allocating resources, guiding legal judgments, creating stigma, and influencing personal expectations to be left in the hands of an APA that has proven itself incapable of producing a safe, sound, and widely accepted manual.' He also states that new diagnoses in psychiatry are more dangerous than new drugs because they influence whether or not millions of people are placed on drugs - often after short visits with primary care doctors.'